CME Archives - Astrobiology

This artist’s impression shows a coronal mass ejection (CME) around another star. We see these eruptions coming often from the Sun. During a CME, massive amounts of material are flung out from our star, flooding the surrounding space. These dramatic expulsions shape and drive space weather, such as the dazzling auroras we see on Earth, and can chip away at the atmospheres of any nearby planets. -- ESA larger image

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics

First Confirmed Sighting Of Explosive Burst On Nearby Star

by Keith CowingNovember 13, 2025November 13, 2025

The atmosphere-stripping ability of the CME is an exciting discovery for our hunt for life around other stars.

Density evolution of planetary material during the interaction of a CME with the planet HD189733b as seen in the polar plane (𝑥𝑧 plane). Black streamlines show the magnetic field lines representing the evolution of the magnetosphere during the interaction. Different snapshots are the same as figure 3. This case considers a CME magnetic field of 𝐵𝑧 = +1 G (Case I). -- astro-ph.SR

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Magnetic Interaction of Stellar Coronal Mass Ejections with Close-in Exoplanets: Implication on Planetary Mass Loss and Ly-α Transits

by Keith CowingNovember 20, 2024November 20, 2024

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) erupting from the host star are expected to have effects on the atmospheric erosion processes of the orbiting planets. For planets with a magnetosphere, the embedded […]

Relations between Hα, X-ray, and white-light energies for solar and stellar flares. (left) The relation between Hα and Bolometric X-ray energies (0.1–100 keV = 0.124–124 ˚A). Data of superflares on the G-dwarf EK Dra detected in this study are represented by red squares. Other solar and stellar data are taken from Kawai et al. (2022). The function fitted to the observational data with a power-law is shown by the cyan line. (right) The relation between bolometric white-light and Hα energies. Data of superflares on the G-dwarf EK Dra, which are associated with filament/prominence eruptions, are represented by filled red squares, whereas those without eruptions are represented by open red squares (this study, Namekata et al. 2022d, Namekata et al. 2022c). For E1, the total energy including the blueshift component is plotted as the upper limit, with the radiative energy of the central component from the two-component fit being plotted as the lower limit. Data of M-dwarf flares are taken from Maehara et al. (2021), Namizaki et al. (2023), and (Notsu et al. 2023). Solar flare data are taken from Namekata et al. (2022a). The function fitted to the observational data, excluding flare E1, with a power-law is shown by the cyan line. -- astro-ph.SR

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report

Multi-wavelength Campaign Observations of a Young Solar-type Star, EK Draconis I. Discovery of Prominence Eruptions Associated with Superflares

by Keith CowingNovember 15, 2023

Young solar-type stars frequently produce superflares, serving as a unique window into the young Sun-Earth environments. Large solar flares are closely linked to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with filament/prominence […]

STEREO A/SWAVES (location A in red), Wind/WAVES (location in green), and STEREO B/SWAVES (location B in blue) dynamic radio spectra from ≈ 10 MHz down to 10 kHz. The visible IP type II burst lanes are indicated with arrows. -- physics.space-ph

Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Separating The Effects Of Earthside And Far Side Solar Events. A Case Study

by Keith CowingOctober 10, 2023October 10, 2023

On 8 November 2013 a halo-type coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed, together with flares and type II radio bursts, but the association between the flares, radio bursts, and the […]

CME mass estimated through different ways plotted against flaring bolometric energy. KIC 8093473 is marked by the two red open stars connected by a dashed line. The two points correspond the CME masses estimated by different CME dynamical length scales (see the main text for the details). The four M-dwarf flares studied in Wang et al. (2021) and Wang et al. (2022) are denoted by the magenta open squares. The stellar CME candidates complied in Moschou et al. (2019) and one studied in Argiroffi et al. (2019) are shown by the solid blue points. The solar flare-CME events studied in Yashiro & Gopalswamy (2009) are denoted by the cyan circles. The best fit to these solar events obtained in Drake et al. (2013) is presented by the dashed line. -- astro-ph.SR

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report

Possible Detection of A Flare-associated Coronal Mass Ejection on A M-dwarf

by Keith CowingMay 17, 2023May 17, 2023

We here report a probable detection of a stellar coronal mass ejection (CME) in active M dwarf KIC 8093473 by performing an analysis on its time resolved X-ray spectra observed […]

Interior

Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics, TRAPPIST-1

Interior Heating Of Rocky Exoplanets From Stellar Flares With Application To TRAPPIST-1

by Keith CowingNovember 14, 2022November 14, 2022

Many stars of different spectral types with planets in the habitable zone are known to emit flares.

Habitable Zones, Press Release

Probability of CME Impact on Exoplanets Orbiting M Dwarfs and Solar-Like Stars

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2017

Solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produce adverse space weather effects at Earth. Planets in the close habitable zone of magnetically active M dwarfs may experience more extreme space weather than […]

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release

Probability of CME Impact on Exoplanets Orbiting M Dwarfs and Solar-Like Stars

by Keith CowingMay 11, 2016

Solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produce adverse space weather effects at Earth. Planets in the close habitable zone of magnetically active M dwarfs may experience more extreme space weather than […]